Strawberry Sauce
by The PalletShipping Ninja
Summary: It seemed a little ironic, how two girls whose crushes turned out to be in love also ended up falling in love. Sam wasn't sure if it was a miracle or just an extremely rare circumstance. Either way, she didn't really care. Sissi/Sam.
1. The Plan

It seemed a little ironic, how two girls whose crushes turned out to be in love also ended up falling in love. Sam wasn't sure if it was a miracle or just an extremely rare circumstance. Either way, she didn't really care. Sissi/Sam.

Strawberry Sauce

1: The Plan

...

"I'm sorry, Sam."

Three words that doomed their fate. Or was it those three words? Maybe it was the next three.

"Let's break up."

Or the three after that?

"I'm kinda gay."

The whole 'I'm kinda gay' thing took place outside her locker. Sam had just shut it when he'd jogged up to her, looking a little like he was going to be sick. He wiped his hands on his trousers. Assuming it wasn't a dire situation (most likely something had come up and he was going to cancel their date to the skate park _again_), she'd leaned back against her locker, folding her arms. Knowing he didn't have much time, he just decided to throw all subtleties aside.

"You're _kinda gay_?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Well, no, not really. I'm bi. I always have been. I mean, you already knew that, so." He laughed, but it looked like he was trying hard not to cry. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. I'm bi. But, uh, I think we should break up."

"What is this about, Odd?" Sam demanded, folding her arms over her chest. "If you're bi that means you're cool with girls too, right? So what's the big deal?"

"I think I prefer guys. And I think I'm about to start seeing someone." His voice cracked and he coughed. Odd's face flooded with shame. "I think I might be seeing someone who isn't you, Sam. And I feel really weird about it and I don't want to lead you on so I'm doing this now. I'm sorry. I really care about you."

This wasn't something Sam saw coming. Admittedly, she'd tried breaking up with him at first because he'd been acting like a total jerk, but he'd been getting better. They were working out fine. Or so she'd thought.

"So you're breaking up with me... because you've met someone else." She said this slowly, to confirm. He nodded. "So you're leaving me so that you can run off to happy land with... who? Who is it, Odd?"

"Er..." Odd grimaced. "I wouldn't say leaving – because you'll leave me first, you know? And... I can't say, I don't think they'd want me to..."

"Why?"

"Because you'd either hit me, or hit them," he groaned.

"What, and you don't deserve that?" She was angry; not just angry at Odd for basically cheating on her but at herself for genuinely believing he wouldn't. They'd been in an open relationship for nearly two years now – she knew that when she was gone he spent time with girls (probably guys too, though she knew for a fact that it wasn't anyone at Kadic) – but their agreement was that for as long as they were attending the same school _they didn't date other people._

Odd shook his head.

"No, I do deserve it. I just don't want you to take it out on... them. So I think concealing their identity is okay, isn't it? I'll take whatever punishment you dish out, but he isn't ready to come out yet, so please..."

She shoved him against her locker, body alight with hurt, her blood burning. There might have been tears in her eyes, but she _did_ tend to get hay fever around this time of year, so it was probably the latter.

"I'll spare you that. That's my last favour as your girlfriend. We're through."

Murmurs rose around them as she stumbled back in the direction of the dorms, snapping at Milly and Tamiya as they tried to reach out to her for a scoop in the gossip column, leaving Odd leaning against her locker in bewilderment. Somehow she managed to contain her grief until the door was firmly locked behind her.

Then she cried.

…

Now, Sissi wasn't persistent. She wasn't. Sure, she made a firm point of addressing Ulrich every so often; it wasn't like she believed it was going to happen, not anymore, but that didn't make getting over the crush she'd had on him for the last three years any easier.

She wasn't sensitive to the feelings of others, but Ulrich was a rare exception. Recently, he'd seemed down. Sissi didn't reckon Yumi understood – all she seemed to do these days was hang all over William, in Sissi's opinion, and it wasn't a case of being biased, it was the truth – and she was determined to help in any way possible. Even if that meant ever so slightly crossing the line between good friend and stalker.

He'd been wandering off by himself. It wasn't like the others in his weird group noticed, either. In fact, Sissi was fairly certain she was the only one that had spotted him heading that way, so impulsively she followed him, anticipating some sort of secret project awaiting him. Maybe he was meeting a girl? One of those awful stuck up ones from the private school in the next neighbourhood, with the pretty uniforms and perfect hair? (Sissi already had cute clothes and perfect hair, thank you very much. Ulrich just looked like the type of guy to fall for a girl in uniform.) Her stomach clenched in a flicker of jealousy at the thought, and she wasted no time in following him.

Of course, she didn't expect what she got, but she really should have expected that much at least.

When Odd emerged behind the tree, she didn't know what to think. Then after exchanging a few words they started kissing, and that just about confirmed every fear she'd ever had regarding those two.

She concealed herself behind the oak tree and listened in as they continued to make out, oblivious to her presence.

"I broke things off with Sam," Odd muttered so quietly Sissi really had to strain to hear. The crease in Ulrich's brow deepened.

"And she wasn't mad?"

"No, she was." Odd sighed and leaned against Ulrich's shoulder, and Sissi could hear the pout in his voice. "I mean, she had every right to be. But she slammed me against a locker!"

"You probably deserved it. You've always been bad at breaking up with girls." There was a tense pause, before, "Did you tell her... about me?"

"No," Odd breathed, and Ulrich's shoulders sagged in relief. "I promised not to, didn't I?"

"Still, it's not the first time you've ran your mouth around her," Ulrich ribbed with a dry smile. Odd scoffed, sounding offended.

"What do you take me for, Ulrich? I'm hurt, hurt I tell you, that you would say such a thing!"

Their conversation continued with a mixture of playful insults and chaste kisses, until Sissi finally slunk away, feeling small.

…

Sam was halfway through a heart-wrenching Tegan and Sara album when she was disrupted by a sharp knock at her door. Sitting up in a daze, she caught sight of her face, blotchy with tears she had wasted on Odd, and scowled at her reflection.

"Odd, leave me alone," she snapped at the door, hoping he would take the hint.

"It isn't Odd," the voice answered. The usually haughty tone lacked any of its attitude today. It just sounded small.

Sam's eyes widened incredulously, and she hunched back defensively, as though the offender would actually break down the door just to torment her on her split ends and 'shabby' fashion sense. "Sissi Delmas? What the hell do _you_ want?"

"Rude!" Sissi shot back, sounding a little more like her old self. "Let me in, would you? I got something to tell you."

Sam searched for some concealer and hastily dabbed at her face, not wanting Sissi Delmas of all people to see her face so raw.

"Why should I? I'm not in the mood for hearing about how shitty my clothes are, Sissi, not today."

"I'm not here about that!" Sissi's impatient tones brought forth a spike of annoyance that, in the meantime, was an escape from thinking about Odd, so she reluctantly opened the door. Sissi opened her mouth, probably to say something cutting about Sam's complexion, but thought better of it and shut up.

"Can I sit down?" she asked, pointedly glancing between Sam's tattered desk chair and the dishevelled bed. Sam nodded listlessly, closing down her iTunes and taking a seat on the old chair. Sissi perched on the edge of the bed, looking out of place against the unmade bed and band posters.

"So what do you want?" Sam asked, running her fingers through her hair. Her trilby sat on her desk, untouched.

Sissi played with her hands for a few moments, uncertain, before piping up, "I know who Odd is seeing."

Sam felt like she had been punched.

"How? How exactly do you know that, were they... were they together today? Less than an hour after breaking things off with me he runs off to be with his new guy friend? Screw him!" Sam bit down on her lip hard, seeing red, before turning to glare at Sissi. "So what do you want, Sissi? Did you come here to rub it in my face? Get me back for that time in science I called you Regina George? What do you think you could possibly say that could make me feel any worse?"

For a few moments Sissi sat silently, stunned. Then, she lowered her head. "I didn't come for that. I just thought you had a right to know who it was."

"Well, I don't _want_ to know."

The two sat in silence, Sam sulking, Sissi fidgeting, until finally Sam spoke. "So what did you think was going to happen if you did tell me? Were you going to leave it at that? Or did you expect me to pluck up some plan of revenge on the two of them and invite you along for the ride?"

"I don't know," Sissi sneered, scowl deepening. "I didn't think that far ahead. I just... I guess I just felt like I had to tell you. It's not right, what those two are doing."

"So this was for girls everywhere? No malicious intent at all?"

"I wouldn't say _at all_ because you know that Odd gets under my skin," she protested, raising an eyebrow. "But mostly, yes. We may not be friends, Suarez, but we're both girls, and I'd absolutely _hate it_ if a guy did that to me."

"You'll have to find one to date first," Sam ribbed, although she was smiling faintly. "All right, Sissi. Say that I _did_ want revenge... what's the plan, exactly?"

"Sabotage. Odd never remembers to lock his room, so getting in there is pretty easy. Hmm... we could tin-foil everything? Someone in the year above did that to their friend's room when they went home for winter break. It was magnificent. So thorough, as well."

"Tin-foil isn't too bad. We'll see what we can find when we get there."

"Perfect."

Sam grinned. "So when should we strike?"

"Well, Ulrich and the dream team usually slip out around five, right after dinner. So Odd should be with them. That would be the ideal time." Sissi stood up and showed herself out, smirking as she took one last sweeping glance at Sam. "Meet me there?"

"It's a date," Sam echoed, picking up her hat and placing it defiantly on her head.

…

When Odd returned from yet another one of Jeremie's programming runs, he stared in dismay as his iPod nano sat solidly in a frozen glass of water on the counter. On the piece of paper beneath the glass, a lipstick mark and a crude drawing of a trilby lay side by side.

…

A few weeks later, Sissi decided to take Sam shopping.

It was premeditated, ever since the raid on Odd and Ulrich's room. Now, Sissi had been trying to wipe her slate clean of the kind of malicious things she used to do to her classmates – there was nothing mature about blackmail, after all – but after Sam's iPod-in-frozen-glass-of-water trick... how could she recover from that? It was brilliant. It reminded her of all those times she had pulled tricks on Ulrich and his gang when they were younger, and it was somehow nostalgic. Taking Sam shopping was not only to improve her fashion sense, but to show her that she had appreciated being able to take part in such a cruel sabotage on the prank master himself.

"Want to go into town later, Suarez?" Sissi dropped casually as she approached the bench in the courtyard that Sam sat at between each class. It was always the same sight – legs crossed, skinny paperback in hand, like she was posing for a Starbucks photo shoot. Sam glanced up in surprise, although when she saw who it was her face relaxed a little and retained some of the sneer it usually did when she saw Sissi.

"What brought this on? Did my wardrobe finally get too much for you to bear? Are you going to dress me up in high waisted shorts and make me crimp my hair?"

The sarcasm dripping from her mouth made Sissi's stomach twist and she scowled.

"Why, do you not want advice from a fashion guru like me? I could probably introduce you to some guys too, so you can rub it in Odd's face."

Sam laughed, though it sounded more like a cough. "I'm not looking for more revenge right now. And I definitely don't want you of all people to set me up with a guy. Also, I don't really rock the look you're going for, Sissi. There's a reason I don't wear those skirts, you know."

"True, your legs would definitely look better in shorts or pants," Sissi agreed, eyes sweeping over Sam. "I still think I ought to take you out, though. I need to know which shops you get clothes from so I know to never, ever shop there."

"I used to live by the coast before I came here, I think you're safe," Sam replied, eyebrow raised, though she rose to her feet. "Well, all I had for the rest of the day was biology, and I can't deal with Ms Hertz right now. Sure, lets go."

…

"What kind of mascara do you use, Suarez?"

"I don't."

"Well that explains a lot."

"Piss off about my face, okay? At least I have natural beauty on my side. What's your excuse?"

"Rude!" Sissi sipped on her cappuccino and raised her eyebrows. "All I'm trying to say is that maybe you'd turn a few more heads if you darkened your lashes some more. I mean, you have the natural gift of dark lashes, apparently, but they're very fine because you don't put anything on them. Mascara and eyeliner would really bring out your eye colour."

"Is that so?" Sam asked without much interest, chugging the last of her strawberry frappe through a straw. "Well, I hate to break it to you, Sissi, but I'm not planning on 'turning a few heads'. If I wanna look good I wanna do it for me, not for guys. What I'm most concerned about is how to go about catching Odd in the act with the guy he's hooked up with."

"Look, I know who it is, and if you'd just let me tell you it'd be twelve times as simple to catch them in the middle of something dirty," Sissi pointed out. Sam scowled.

"No! Where's the fun in that? If I catch them in the middle of something and I already know what to expect the reaction won't be nearly as brilliant as it will be if I'm completely unaware of who the man on the other end of Odd's cock is."

"Please stop saying that."

"Why? It's true." She closed her eyes. "Normally I wouldn't be so caught up in it, but this is _Odd_. We had an agreement – no dating other people while we're attending the same school – and he broke it. So, I'm taking this personally."

"I think I'd take it personally regardless of whether he cheated," Sissi vouched. "I mean, leaving you for a guy? Isn't that, like, insulting?"

Sam shook her head, opening her eyes and examining her phone. "Nah, I already knew he was bi. That part doesn't bother me. It's just the nerve of him running off to be with his new guy within an hour of breaking up with me. What's with that? It would be easier to forgive him if he just had a little tact."

Sissi stared off into the distance thoughtfully and Sam took this opportunity to steal the last strawberry from the pile of waffles they were sharing (not that Sissi would mind; she'd complained about the calories of eating café food enough in the past five minutes, after all). When she spoke, there was a note of curiosity in her voice.

"Well, what would Odd say if you got together with another _girl_? It would be one thing to find yourself a new guy, but a girl would throw him for a loop, wouldn't it?"

Sam stared.

"I'm not suggesting anything!" Sissi hurriedly tried, even though now it sounded even more like she was suggesting something than before. She felt her face redden. "It's not like that. It was hypothetical. I mean, an eye for an eye, right? If he gets with a guy, get with a girl and see how he likes it? That's all I was trying to say!"

Sam swallowed the strawberry and exhaled. "...Well... I never specifically told him _I_ was bisexual too... I never thought there was much point bringing it up. I don't know if getting with a girl would do much good though. I mean, how many lesbians do you see hanging around Kadic, anyway? Not to mention it would be just as bad as leading them on, and I'm not a bitch."

"Well, what if you found a girl who was totally fine just flirting with you a bit in front of Odd, who was in on the plan and didn't care if people thought you were going out? Would you do it?"

"Are we still talking hypothetically here?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"Yes! Of course!"

Only now Sissi wasn't thinking hypothetically, she was thinking realistically, and how awful yet magnificent it would be. Dating Sam, that'd be the awful part. But the satisfaction of being able to pull the ultimate trick on Odd, to see his face as his ex-girlfriend waltzed off in the arms of not just any woman, but _Sissi Delmas_... that was the magnificent part.

It was an offer almost too brilliant to pass by. But she didn't want to give Sam any ideas. After all, it wasn't like _she_ was looking to hook up with another girl. Getting Sam's hopes up would only hurt her later. And Sissi was trying to be nicer these days.

Sam contemplated the scenario for a few moments.

"I guess," she said eventually, "if there was someone willing to do that, I'd be up for it. Just long enough to show Odd how it feels. Then we could stage a dramatic break up and be done with it. Who would get a kick out of that, though?"

"Well, for one, the long line of Odd's ex-girlfriends whom he treated like dirt," Sissi pointed out.

"A valid point," Sam agreed, before dissolving into laughter.

…

It was almost 1am and Sissi couldn't sleep. Each time she tried to doze off the conversation would plague her thoughts and she'd shoot awake almost immediately. Why did she get like this whenever a good opportunity to prank someone arose?

Groggily she climbed out of bed, appreciating the silence as she left her room, tiptoeing towards the bathroom. The corridor was dark, and the only noise was the sound of typing coming from Aelita's room. If she pressed an ear to the door she'd probably be able to hear the muffled whispers between the Einstein couple (and that Laura girl, if they even still talked to her. Sissi didn't know and frankly didn't care – that third Einsteinette freaked her out, the way she stared at her from across the room every history lesson). She pushed on the bathroom door with a sigh and came face to face with a ruffled-looking Sam.

The two stared at each other as several long moments passed. Then, after briefly eyeing Sissi up and down, Sam cleared her throat.

"So I was thinking-"

"Me too," Sissi rushed. "We should. You know, do it. What we were talking about earlier."

"You want to?" Sam asked, astonished. "For real?"

"It's a chance to play the ultimate cruel prank on Odd Della Robbia. Of course I'm for real."

Sam pursed her lips. "Guess we're going out, then."

"Cool. Meet me before breakfast and we'll come up with a plan of action?"

"Deal."

High-fiving her on the way out, Sam retreated to her room as Sissi began to wash her face, never once turning off the taps.

…

"So, here's the schedule: we'll walk to every class together, hand in hand; you'll compliment me on my clothes, I'll compliment you on your eyebrows; we'll plant kisses on the cheek, mouth or hand if and whenever Odd walks by; we'll eat every meal together; we'll hang all over each other in the wreck room; we'll constantly text and act super loved up about it; and last but not least, I'll be in charge of changing facebook relationship statuses and we'll take a bunch of cute lovey-dovey selfies to upload to both of our instagram accounts."

"This is extremely thorough," Sam complimented as she buttered a croissant. "Were you up all night making this plan?"

"This isn't the first time I've fake-dated someone, so I know the drill," Sissi replied with a shrug. "I've just never done it with a girl before, so it should be even more fun since girls are actually sensitive about whether or not we're wearing special perfume and stuff."

"To be honest I probably wouldn't notice if you wore new perfume because I don't pick up on things like that," Sam admitted. "Though, it would be fun to hang all over each other and announce that we're so compatible that our periods have synced. Can you imagine Odd's face?"

"...Yeah, we aren't going to do that."

"Hey, I'm just trying to put forward some creative input. Can't call it a group project if you're doing all the work," Sam retorted, lathering strawberry jam over her croissant and taking a bite. "Anyway, are you sure you're okay doing this? I mean, it'll smash your reputation to smithereens, and I know you care about that stuff.

"Look, when I dyed my hair I didn't do it just to change up my look. It was a fresh start, you know, a chance to reinvent myself. Don't you think mixing up my sexuality is a big change? Who knows, maybe it'll make me even more popular than before. Guys love thinking they have a shot at 'turning' a girl straight, so when we've done our huge dramatic break up I'm sure guys will be lining up."

"That is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard," Sam deadpans. "But if that's your plan, go for it, I guess. I don't really care. But how will Principal Delmas take it? Your dad's one of the most conservative men I've ever met. I haven't met any gay students at Kadic, I have no idea how he's going to treat the two of us if this gets out."

"Oh, quit worrying about that," Sissi said dismissively, waving her hand. "My father loves me too much to do anything too terrible to me. It might take some getting used to, but he always tells me that he swore by my mother's deathbed that he would love me and care for me no matter what. I'm holding him to that." She could admit to herself that it was a bit cruel to force her father to adapt to a fake relationship, but then she reasoned he should be more accepting of same-sex couples in his school anyway, and chose not to dwell on it anymore.

"That's quite harsh, since it's not even genuine. But anyway, are we going to make this public, or something exclusive? Maybe have Odd 'accidentally' catch us in the middle of something?"

"No, we have to be more sneaky than that," Sissi explained, leaning in closer. "Yumi always waits for Aelita to come down before coming into the cafeteria. If we play our cards right they can be the ones who catch us 'slipping up', and they can run over to Odd and tell him what they saw. He'll believe it, get really bummed out, but he's still touchy over the break up so he'll probably try and keep his distance. That will give us about a week to romance it up and make it real convincing before he finally works up the courage to confront you."

"You have it all planned out, don't you?" Sam grinned, reaching for her hot chocolate. "I'm impressed."

"It's all talent, baby. If we pull this off successfully they'll still be talking about it several years from now. We'll be the stars of Milly and Tamiya's favourite gossip column – 'Are They Or Aren't They?' - we'll be brilliant. Not to mention Odd will get a taste of what he dished out."

"You're having way too much fun with this," Sam pointed out, although she was smiling. "Okay, so what exactly are we going to do to spark off the chain of interest?"

"Hm... kiss, maybe?" Sissi rolled her eyes dramatically. "I mean, I hate to jump the gun so soon, but it _is_ necessary to be convincing otherwise Yumi and Aelita are never going to mention it to Odd. We only have to do it once. I mean, we might have to do it later on as well, but a kiss will totally stir things up. It doesn't have to last long, it just has to occur the moment they step through the door. Or maybe we should pretend to flirt first?"

"Well, we're gonna have to hurry it up, they're coming through the door now."

Sam's gaze flickered over to where the two were stood, deeply engrossed in their own conversation, and without thinking she grabbed Sissi forcefully by the face and pulled her into a kiss that was supposed to look romantic and meaningful but ended up feeling like the trainwreck it has been born from. Sissi almost spluttered in surprise but held back just in time to catch Yumi staring from the corner of her eye. She decided to shut her eyes tightly, make a real show of it, and hastily began to lose her fingers in Sam's hair, deepening the kiss. As it would happen, it really wasn't that bad; Sam's lips were about as chapped as a boy's would be, if not slightly softer because apparently she did use Vaseline after all, despite how cracked her lips looked on the outside; her mouth tasted of strawberry jam; Sissi found her hair felt kind of like straw, but softer and more pleasant to run her fingers through. By the time she pulled away she could feel more than just Yumi's eyes on the two of them. Sissi could feel her face burning but instead she focused in on Sam, who was pink in the face and looked a little stunned at her own impulsive creativity. Her hat was skewered and Sissi set it straight with a grin, tapping Sam lightly on the nose.

"Well, that's set the ball rolling," Sissi said simply, winking at Sam before bringing her cup of hot chocolate to her mouth.


	2. The Eyes of the World

Strawberry Sauce

2: The Eyes of the World

All was not well at Kadic Academy.

"I think it could be a new tactic employed by XANA," Aelita explained as Jeremie raised an eyebrow, ever the sceptic. "Look, what else could it be? They were _making out_."

"They could, you know, be experimenting?" he offered a little uncomfortably. "Does Odd know about it?"

"No, I think Odd and Ulrich are still in their room," Yumi inputted. She glanced over at the table Sam and Sissi were sat at. "I mean, I know that it looks suspicious, but Odd _did_ break up with Sam a few weeks ago. And neither of them have ever stated they _weren't_-"

"It just feels too weird!" Aelita exclaimed. Then, upon seeing Yumi and Jeremie's puzzled looks, "Not like that – not two girls. Those two specifically. I mean, Sam and Sissi? What do they have in common besides their hair colour?"

"They're both really bitter?" Jeremie suggested. "And that isn't even a valid point – Sissi _dyes her hair_."

Aelita threw up her hands in disgust. Jeremie nodded in greeting as William sauntered over, looking baffled.

"Uh, did you guys hear? Sam and Sissi-"

"Saliva city? Yeah, we heard." Aelita pulled a face. "We saw, too."

William whistled.

"Hot damn."

"William's immoral fetishes aside, I really don't think it's a XANA attack. I mean, what would XANA gain from turning two of our classmates into lesbians? Sam and Sissi aren't exactly close friends of ours, and Sam isn't even Odd's girlfriend anymore, so why would doing this benefit XANA in the slightest?" Yumi asked, arms folded over her chest. Aelita's mouth quivered.

"Maybe it's a ploy to knock Odd's confidence so he performs poorly on Lyoko! He's not over her yet, I can tell. He keeps glancing over at Sam's spot in the courtyard whenever we hang out there."

"But Odd seems happier now, somehow," William pointed out with a frown. "Or relieved to be shot of her, at least. Maybe Sam was meaner than we gave her credit for."

Yumi snorted. "Mean? Samantha may be prickly, but she's no meaner than any of us. Odd has never exactly been great boyfriend material, either. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be."

"True, but don't let him hear you say that."

"Say what?" Odd and Ulrich, having approached the group while they had been distracted by the subject at hand, sat at the table, setting down their trays. "And what has darling Sissi done now? Everyone's talking about her but I couldn't get any straight answers from Theo, he just kept laughing."

"If you were looking for 'straight' answers, this might hurt a little," William said with a snort. Yumi elbowed him in the ribs.

"William too?" Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Care to explain, anyone?"

There was a long silence.

"...I think I'm going to go to my room, I really need to check through this programme," Jeremie said first, rising abruptly. Aelita stood up too, deciding that even if it _was_ a XANA attack she still didn't want to be around when they broke the news to Odd.

"Oh my, look at the time, I gotta get going to Jim's class-"

"Hold it." Odd jumped to his feet and grabbed the collars of both William and Yumi's jackets. Yumi stayed obediently, cursing fate, while William chose to sacrifice the jacket and slipped his arms out of the sleeves, escaping with a "See you in class Yumi!" and a manic wave.

"How bad is the story, exactly...?" Ulrich questioned, but then he stopped as he noticed Odd's gaze wander over to the far end of the cafeteria.

"Why is _she_ sat next to Sissi?" he muttered, scrutinising the sight of polar opposites Samantha Suarez and Sissi Delmas sharing a table and seemingly holding a pleasant conversation.

"Well, the thing is-" Yumi began.

Their hands were touching. Sissi laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder, and Sam squeezed her hand tighter.

Odd's grip on her jacket went limp. William's tumbled to the floor, forgotten.

"...I think they're going out now," she explained softly.

The strained silence was lost beneath the din of the rumour mill.

…

"Samantha Suarez! Is it true that you and Sissi Delmas are going out? Is it true that you two kissed passionately in the cafeteria this morning? How did this lesbian affair begin? Is it love?"

Sam was never in the mood for Milly and Tamiya's persistence and when it came to her love life she was especially irritated. She reasoned that since she was supposed to make her and Sissi's relationship appear genuine she should be milking opportunities to talk into their microphones, but another part of her felt no obligation to further their experience in the world of journalism since it gave them free access to ask her personal questions about her sexuality and love life. So she ignored them.

It wasn't like she had wandered into the eye of the storm knowingly – Milly and Tamiya had been waiting at her usual courtyard seat, video camera and notebook in hand, and had been persistent in following her down the corridor as she had tried to abandon ship. Sam knew by this point that same-sex couples at Kadic were so rarely sighted the school paper would make a big deal out of it, but she hadn't expected for it to catch on so quickly. Not that many people had been initially paying attention to them, but apparently somebody had caught it on camera, linked it to the school's facebook page and that was that – the end of their sound little lives as they knew it.

"Sissi," she said stiffly as she approached the blonde, who was sorting out her locker, "the school paper is trying to interview me on our 'lesbian love affair' and I figured it would make more sense if you were the one doing that sort of thing, so if you see Milly and Tamiya would you just answer a few of their questions so they'll get off my back? If I see another microphone thrust in my face I will scream. All I want to do is sit in my spot and read this novel in peace."

She held up her flimsy paperback as proof, and Sissi cocked an eyebrow.

"Fine. But you know, you should start calling me something more romantic. A pet name or something. Like, I'll call you sweetie, you call me honey? Something along those lines. Gotta be believable."

Sam stared.

"...Believe me, I've never given anybody a pet name in my life," she deadpanned, glaring as Milly's small squad of underclassmen in the paper charged towards them. "I'm escaping. Tell them I'm moving to Canada."

"So much for making it public!" Sissi called after her as Sam slipped into the girls bathroom. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she set her books straight and shut her locker, glancing warily over at the stampede heading her way.

"Don't move, Sissi! We have serious questions for you!"

As Milly and Tamiya emerged from the crowd of underclassmen, grinning like they'd scored the jackpot, she brushed off her skirt and addressed them with a serene smile.

"Go ahead. I'm sure you have a lot to ask."

…

"Woah, sorry if I didn't give you enough direction when I said 'you take care of this, Sissi', but this is a little extreme, don't you think?" Sam spluttered, glancing over the column in amazement. "I mean, how the hell is Story of My Life 'our song'?"

"I blanked! It was the first song that came into my head. What would you have said instead?" Sissi shot back.

"Uh, I don't know, Crimson and Clover? All The Things She Said? Heck, even something as obvious as Girlfriend would fit us better than that. I don't think I've ever listened to One Direction with you. Ever."

"That can be our next date, then," Sissi said with a shrug. Sam sighed.

"Lets do something a bit more exciting than that, okay? Ice skating or something."

"Sounds good to me! I'll make a note of it. Wednesday?"

"If the rink is open."

The two had finally found solitude in Sissi's room, where they at least had a locked door standing between them and the school paper. Milly had given Sissi a preview copy of the upcoming article, telling the two of them to work out the kinks 'as a couple' and pass it back to her before curfew. After Sam was through with it the original text would be barely recognisable.

Sissi reached over and moved a strand of Sam's hair to one side. "Hey, so, we should take some cute couple pics soon. Create hype, and all that. If someone shows Odd what a great time we're having it's bound to bum him out."

"True," Sam agreed, squirming away from Sissi's hand. "Fine. We'll piece together a collage of pictures over the next few days. But nothing excessive, okay? If people think we're overdoing it they'll start to realise it's a hoax."

"I promise I won't go overboard. I'm just having fun," Sissi agreed, pouting. "Having a girlfriend is nicer than a boyfriend. You _get_ me."

"Well, you're meaner to guys, so they stay away from you. I mean, you're pretty harsh on other girls too," Sam mused. "But I don't take that kind of shit from anyone, especially not you. That's probably what makes us so compatible."

There was a sharp knock at the door.

"Sissi? We need to talk."

"Ulrich?" Sissi hissed, glancing between the door and Sam, who shrugged, clueless. Realising Sam was still in the dark regarding Ulrich's role in the break up, she hastily crept over to the door. "Wait here," she told Sam, who nodded, discarding the news article and picking up her phone instead.

Sissi shut the door behind her and leaned against it, exhaling, before laying eyes on Ulrich, who appeared antsy, folding and unfolding his arms. "What's up, Ulrich?"

"What's up?! What the hell are you playing at, running around kissing Samantha?! She's Odd's ex-girlfriend!"

"Uh, yeah...?" Sissi raised an eyebrow. "'Ex' is the key here, Ulrich. She doesn't _belong_ to him. In fact, since they're broken up she doesn't have to answer to him for anything."

"But why?" Ulrich snapped, eyes flashing. "Why would you...? You don't even like her!"

"Wherever did you get that idea from?" she asked innocently. "I don't think I'd be macking on a girl I don't like, Ulrich. Sam and I are _dating_. We're going ice skating on Wednesday, you know."

"But you're not a lesbian!" he spluttered, waving his hands around for effect. Sissi sighed.

"Isn't that for me to decide?" she replied coolly. "Anyway, are you done yet? Not that I don't love talking to you, but Sam and I have plans, and I think I've answered all of your questions, so-"

"Listen," he said urgently, grabbing her arm. "Odd is still hurting from the break up. What you're doing with Sam is upsetting him, so stop it, okay? Lesbian it up with some other girl. Just not her."

For a moment Sissi almost believed him; his eyes were wide and anxious, his lips set tight and he was gripping onto her arm with some force. And then she remembered that less than thirty minutes after the initial break up Odd had his tongue in Ulrich's mouth, not a regret to be named. She pursed her lips and slid her arm out of his grasp.

"It doesn't work like that," she said smoothly. "Maybe he should have considered this before breaking Sam's heart. What Sam and I have is real, okay? Give Odd my condolences. But don't tell me not to date her, Ulrich. Neither you nor Odd has that right."

As he stood there dumbly, she flashed him a smile. "Gotta get ready now. Sam's waiting for me. Talk to you later, Ulrich!"

"Having fun?" Sam asked mildly as Sissi shut the door quickly and flipped the lock in place.

"Well, apparently we're hurting Odd's ego, so, so far so good I guess."

"'What Sam and I have is real', huh?" Sam teased in a poor imitation of Sissi's voice, grinning as Sissi stuck out her tongue. "What we have is about as real as that blonde hair of yours."

…

All eyes were on them as they sat down to eat that night. Rosa pursed her lips disapprovingly but said nothing. Some kids were steering themselves clear, others were fighting to get closer seats. Odd and his group were watching them like hawks.

"I didn't consider how much we'd stand out," Sam muttered through a mouthful of spaghetti. Sissi hummed in agreement.

"Maybe we should eat out from now on. Become permanent residents in the McDonald's down town."

"I'm down for that."

…

The lights were dim in their room, the sheets rumpled, and the only sounds audible were the soft kisses and fumbling of belts, the noises of clothing being removed. Yet there was still something lacking. They just couldn't get into the swing of things like they usually could.

"I mean, why do you even think she likes her?" Odd demanded. Ulrich peeked up from between Odd's legs. "Sissi is too uptight and shrill. What does Sam _see_ in her?"

"You sound pretty jealous," Ulrich stated, amusement in his voice. "Not quite over Sam yet?"

"Of course I am!" Odd was indignant. "I just don't understand how the hell that trainwreck of a relationship came to be."

"They're pretty tight, apparently," Ulrich commented, resting his chin on Odd's navel and peering up at the blond. "Sissi told me herself. She said her and Sam were the real deal. They're going ice skating on Wednesday."

"I don't believe it! They're already going on dates?! How long have we been broken up for?!"

"Well, you and I were at it _before_ you two broke up so I hardly think you're one to talk-" Ulrich started.

"They can't just do that, can they?! I mean, Sam knows I'm terrible! But she's better than that, isn't she?"

"I just don't know, buddy," Ulrich responded, shaking his head. "I just don't know."

He leaned up and pecked Odd lightly on the lips.

"Can we stalk their date on Wednesday?" Odd asked miserably. "I have to see it for myself. It's just too surreal to believe right now."

"We don't need to go that far. Why not just ask Sam yourself?"

Odd groaned dramatically. "She hates me, Ulrich! She shoved me against a locker and sunk my iPod in ice, remember? The last thing she'll want is me asking about her lesbian love life!" He buried his face in Ulrich's hair. "I didn't even know she swung that way," he mumbled incoherently. Ulrich reached up and patted the side of his head affectionately.

"We're a fine pair to talk. But neither did I, Odd. Neither did I."

…

They were lying back on Sissi's bed, streaks of moonlight spattering the bedsheets and their curled up bodies. It was warm, but the warmth wasn't coming from outside, but within themselves, a heat rising from their stomachs and spreading through their arms, legs, chests, crotches. The only times their lips parted was to draw in enough oxygen for more kisses, a chain deep and strong and seemingly unbreakable. Sam thought her heart was ready to burst out of her chest. Her hands were getting lost in Sissi's hair, running down her neck, to her shoulders, hitting her waist, fingers clinging on tightly. Sissi's hands were on Sam's boobs, rolling in circles, squeezing, varying pressure. Nobody could reach them here. It was their own little world.

"I love you," Sissi muttered in between kisses. "I love you so much."

"You too," Sam responded each time. "The feeling's mutual."

She could only vaguely connect thoughts, moving from _I love her_ to _this feels so fucking good_.

Then Sissi's hands dipped down her shorts and Sam stopped thinking altogether.

Had she ever done this with Odd? Hell no. Had she ever done it by herself? ...Yes.

But this was an entirely different experience, and the ecstasy rising from the pit of her stomach warmed her body, radiating through her. Sweat broke out on her skin. She was burning up inside, legs twitching, breath hitching, her voice coming out as a mewl when she tried to ask Sissi to _slow the fuck down._

Then her eyes opened and she was on her own, facing up at the ceiling as light streamed through cracks in the curtains. Sam groaned and rolled over, pulling her pillow over her head.

"I'm so fucked."

…

That morning Sissi was summoned to her father's office. She wasn't entirely sure why, but she could guess. Milly and Tamiya's paper had gone out this morning at 7am, and people had kicked up more of a storm than at breakfast yesterday. Their written interview would be featured on page 4, a double spread according to Milly and Tamiya's underclassmen, who were hanging around in the courtyard throwing papers at anybody who passed by. Kids wolf-whistled as Sissi strolled past. Guys leered at the picture, chanting 'that's so hot' and 'who'd have thought'. Girls raised their eyebrows, muttering the odd 'I never thought she was like _that_' and 'maybe we should dial back on sharing the shower rooms with her'.

The blurry snapshot of the kiss was featured on the cover, with the headline 'We Hear You Loud And Queer! - A Shocking Coming Out' in bold print. Sissi scowled down at the badly printed image. Her chin fat was so much more visible in that shot than it usually was.

Her father's secretary offered her a sympathetic smile as she passed, and she returned it uncertainly. It was amazing how differently people were looking at her just because she and Sam kissed in front of a crowd just the once. Were they already calculating how long it would last? Were they already searching for signs in her previous behaviour and sum it up to her being gay when that obviously wasn't the case?

Sighing, she reached his door and knocked.

"Daddy?"

A gruff voice responded.

"Come in, Elisabeth."

Swallowing, Sissi pushed open the door to her father's office, the familiar smell of peppermint and book must hitting her. The first thing she noticed was the fact that her father was stood up, hands behind his back, watching outwards unto the courtyard – a telltale sign that she was in for a lecture. With a grimace, Sissi sat down and watched him apprehensively.

"What exactly are you playing at?" he asked simply, without turning to look at her. She raised an eyebrow.

"Um, I don't know what you mean," she replied testily, watching him closely. He turned around, mouth set in a grim line.

"I saw the school paper this morning. In fact, I had heard a few students talking but I didn't believe it was anything more than idle student gossip. Rather malicious gossip, I'll admit, but I didn't for one moment consider there to be any _truth_ in it."

She'd seen it coming, but it was still a little humiliating to have to sit back and allow her father to throw these kind of cruel words around like it was nothing.

"Well... it _is_ true, Daddy," she managed to choke out. Why had she thought pretending to date Sam was going to end well when this conversation was obviously going to end up happening? Maybe she should have thought ahead a little. Bravely, she continued. "I kissed another student. And for whatever reason people are making a big deal out of it."

"Because you kissed another _girl_, Sissi!" her father scolded. His fists were clenching and unclenching. "What exactly possessed you to do such a preposterous thing?"

"The same thing that possessed you to kiss Mom! The same reason that people on tv kiss for!" Sissi reasoned, folding her arms. "I kissed her for the same reason that other teenagers kiss. Does her being a girl really matter right now? It's better than me accidentally getting pregnant and having to drop out of school, right?"

"That- That-" His face was beginning to redden.

"Why are you so upset? Because the school paper made a big deal about it? None of the staff here read it; nobody outside Kadic read it. Are you ashamed, is that it? Do you think people will look down on you for having a daughter in a same-sex relationship?" Sissi should have held her tongue; yet all the same, this kind of reaction was more realistic, wasn't it? Even in this state of anger Sissi calculated the odds of her being grounded after this conversation.

"You're too young to know what you want," he spluttered, crimson-faced. "You shouldn't do things like this. What would your mother think?"

Sissi scowled.

"You wouldn't be having this conversation with me if I had kissed a boy," she said quietly, standing up. "And I'm sure that my mother would want me to be happy. She'd care more about my happiness than what the people who read that stupid newspaper think."

"Where are you going?" he barked as Sissi beelined for the door.

"To class!" she shot back, pulling the door shut louder than probably necessary.

On her way out, the secretary shot her another sympathetic smile, and Sissi nodded, holding her head high.

…

"So apparently Principal Delmas has stopped the school paper from reprinting," Sam remarked as Sissi sat down beside her gloomily. Seeing her downcast expression, Sam leaned closer. "What's up?"

"He stopped the reprints because he's furious at me," she muttered. "I mean, I thought I didn't care what he thought. But it still hurt, the things he was saying. It suddenly makes perfect sense why all of the queer students at our school have been closeted until now."

"Hey," Sam said softly, squeezing her shoulder. "Listen. Whatever he says, you can't let him get to you. That's letting them win. We have to hold our heads high and ignore what they say."

"What if he tries to split us up?" Sissi asked aloud, frowning. "If he moves me to different classes we won't be able to do that sketch we planned where we write each other sappy notes and pass them over the tables so everyone gets a good look at how loved up we are."

"That _would_ be a tragedy," Sam agreed, grinning. "But so what? Everyone believes it anyway, you know? Besides, I really don't think your father would do that, Sissi. He doesn't seem like the type to deliberately push you away. Once he gets his head around the idea he'll bounce back. I mean, I don't think he'll particularly enjoy it? But he'll tolerate it for your sake at least, I'm sure."

"You think so?" Sissi mumbled, pulling out her phone. She began to scroll through her twitter feed without much interest. "Well, what would _your_ parents say?"

"My mom's dead," Sam said mildly, as though stating the weather. "Cervical cancer, when I was three. So I have no idea what she'd say. My dad doesn't care that much, really. I think when I was younger he really wanted me to shape up into the kid who'd act like a girl, get married and have kids, but it's not like you're my first girlfriend. He probably saw it coming to be honest. Two of my brothers are gay and I _did_ always sit on my brother Henri's girlfriend's lap when I was eleven. She smelt nice."

"Your family sounds way better than mine," Sissi grumbled, folding her arms. Sam shrugged.

"Really? Because my dad packed me off to boarding school when I got expelled from my last school. So he may be tolerant about who I date, but as far as he's concerned I'm basically a terrible student and therefore a sad excuse for a daughter."

Sissi didn't know what to say to that, but she reached over and squeezed Sam's hand. For a moment Sam's heart skipped – and then she noticed out of the corner of her eye a camera flash.

"Seriously?" she muttered. "You're picking now of all times to put on a scene?"

"It's only half fanservice," Sissi retorted. "I really am trying to make you feel better. I just figured it'd look more authentic if we did it this way."

"Why is it that your Romeo and Juliet performance didn't do so hot last year?" Sam questioned. "I mean, you're a proper method actor."

"Thank you. I pride myself in it," Sissi smirked, opening her instagram app and holding out her phone at arms length. "Say cheese?"

…

"Well, there's no need to launch a return trip," Jeremie sighed, as the last of the group devirtualised, "since nobody got hurt this time. All the side effects of XANA's attacks disappear after the tower's been deactivated, so if Sam and Sissi are still holding hands when you see them next, it's safe to say that there's no ulterior motive to their coming out."

"I'm certain it was XANA's doing," Aelita exclaimed, folding her arms. "And you'll see. They'll be throwing insults back and forth the next time we see them."

"Yeah! I mean, we don't know anything yet! It could be over," Odd agreed, perking up. "Come on Aelita, lets go look!"

As the two bounded off, Ulrich raised his eyebrows at the others.

"I can't be the only one who's starting to believe their bedroom eyes have nothing to do with XANA, right?"

"Well, neither of them have ever said they weren't going to do this sooner or later," Yumi said with a heavy sigh. "I don't know how long this has been going on for or how long it'll last, but I have a feeling Odd and Aelita are going to be disappointed."

William shrugged. "Well, what's the worst outcome to this situation? They kiss and fool around a bit, Kadic becomes a more accepting place, and it's not like Sam and Odd are still together anymore so it's all fair game, right?"

"In theory it should equate to nothing, but you can't honestly tell me that you believe Odd will be completely fine with this," Ulrich pointed out, sitting back.

"...That's a pretty good point, actually," William admitted, hanging his head in defeat. "Well, I say let it play out. It's not like breaking them up will do anything except make us look like jerks, and it's none of our business. We'll let the pressure from the school paper drive them apart instead. I doubt they'll last if they have Milly and Tamiya on their backs all the time."

They found Odd and Aelita sitting at their regular table in the cafeteria, scowling over at Sam and Sissi, who were still sitting together and conversing freely.

"They're still together," Aelita said through gritted teeth.

"Don't give in, Aelita. Things will get better," William joked, patting her shoulder.

"I just think there's something wrong with it," Aelita sulked. "If it were any other girls I wouldn't care, but Sam and Sissi... it's fishy, right? There's something suspicious about it."

"Well I for one think it's adorable," Milly piped up, appearing from behind William. She was poised, notebook and pen in hand, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "And even if Mr Delmas has banned today's newspaper from being reprinted, there's nothing saying we can't go ahead and set up tomorrow's! You should be happy for them! Being the first same-sex couple at Kadic takes guts, don't you think?"

"Maybe," Aelita muttered. "But I still think they're up to something."

"I just can't believe it," Odd said coldly, before turning on his heels and leaving the cafeteria.

…

In class, Sissi was interrupted from binge-watching Gossip Girl on her phone behind a textbook by a paper plane hitting the back of her head. With a glare, she searched the room, honing in on likely suspects. The rest of Ulrich's crew were the faces of innocence – however, sitting directly behind her, Odd had a mischievous look on his face.

She unfolded it with a scowl.

_So you guys are for real?_

Rolling her eyes, she wrote underneath it and, neatly folding it into a square, stuck it in between two large clumps of hair at the front of his head. He swatted at it irritably, snatching the paper up and reading her curt reply.

_YES, we are dating, if that's what you were getting at._

His brow furrowed as he processed this. Hurriedly he scribbled a response, which he stuck down the back of her shirt collar. She swiped it before it got wedged in her bra strap and unfolded it, fixing her gaze on the blotchy green ink from Odd's gel pen.

_But WHY? When have you and Sam EVER got along?_

The minutes ticked by with no response. Finally, Sissi pretended to drop a pencil on the floor, noticing Mrs Meyer looking in her direction, and when the teacher returned to writing on the chalkboard, Sissi kicked the note behind her. Odd reached down in a separate incident and hastily picked it up.

_That's hardly any of your business, Odd! Anyway, if you don't like it, tough. She's not your girlfriend anymore. You don't have a say in what we do._

"You're a mean, mean person," he hissed, kicking her seat.

"Delmas! Della Robbia! If I see you two horsing around again it'll be detention," Mrs Meyers warned, hands on hips. Sissi said nothing. Odd scowled and hunched back over his exercise book. Sissi glanced down at the page he was opened on and spied a strange drawing of his dog, accompanied by a sketch that appeared to be the outline of Ulrich.

"Yeah, _I'm_ the mean one," she muttered under her breath, turning back to face the front.


End file.
